6.75 on Litmus test

I have been working on my diet and tweaking my supplements as my body still struggles to be alkaline. I have decided to take my greens supplement (Green Vibrance) in pill form because the texture of the liquid drink made me want to gag. This was detering me from taking the supplement. So, now I am taking the capsules which has the green substance enclosed. This ensure that I will take it everyday and am already starting to see some results. I continue to test myself and the ideal range on on the acid-alkaline scale is between 6.5 and 7.0. So, I am right in the middle...around 6.75. I am going to continue to take the supplements while increasing juicing.

What is juicing? This is where you take your veggies in juice form. The theory behind this is that if you take your veggies in juice form, it will be easier for your body to absorb the nutrients because it will not have to break down the food for digestion. You are also getting more of the enzymes in the food, which helps in decreasing the possibility of inflammation. Because most of us are not getting the actual enzymes we need in our food, juicing can actually help get us there.

Many cancer survivors have used juicing to transform their live...change their situations from terminal to remission. It also helps with other auto-immune disorders because these are normally caused and/or promoted by inflammation. Inflammation is a cause...cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis are some of the effects.

I am not sure why this cancer happened to me or why it wants to stay around, but I am convinced that if I promote an alkaline environment and increase oxygenation at the cellular level...that over time, the tumors will subside. It has happened for others and I believe it will happen for me.

Blessings to all of you...be well!
Lolo

The Year of Still Here...

So, in our effort to start enjoying life a little more...Michael and I went to see Jimmy Buffett in St. Louis, Missouri this last Thursday. For those of you who snub Jimmy Buffett like I probably would have done years before, I just want you to know that he is a very smart guy. His philosophies in his songs are very simple, but they ring true. He knows who he is. He remembers the value of his family. He values his good friends. He appreciates a good day. He reads good books and loves Mark Twain and Ann Morrow Lindbergh, as writers. I could not agree more with his choice of authors.

I must admit it took me a while to get used to his music, but I realized that the value of a good day is priceless. Jimmy Buffett has life figured out. I have read one-and-a-half of his books and, at heart, he is a good old southern boy. But, he knows his limits and he knows his strengths. I wish most of us could recognize this wisdom and feel the value of who we are. I did not do this until I got sick.

I am thankful for Buffett's perspective. Being at his concert was like many things I have experienced over the past couple of years...a dream come true. Life is a dream come true for me. I am sure without the assistance of good medicinces, good physicians and the women who have come before me...that I would not even be here. I appreciate the simplicity of a good day. It no longer needs to be a perfect day in order for me to accept it. I no longer need to be perfect in order for me to love ME. I love me exactly as I am, FLAWS AND ALL. I plan on being here for a long time. I am blessed.

We went to the concert with our friends, Phil and Angel. They have been Parrotheads for quite some time and they wanted to help us, and there St. Louis friends, become accustomed to the ways of Jimmy. It was a very fun experience. I got to put my FINS UP! And, I got to hear about Jimmy's love of Mark Twain. He was extremely appreciative of his Missouri-born band-mates and overall, he seemed to have a great time...just like we did. He sang lots of his favorite songs and a couple of new ones. He honored Bob Dylan and Van Morrison.

His theme for this concert series is THE YEAR OF STILL HERE. I thought this was a perfect concert theme for me to be a part of. I often wonder if people think I will be here for long because I am a stage IV girl, but I plan on being here for a long time. I feel blessed, honored, to have access to medicines and physicians...to feel that my cancer is manageable and to be a part of my medical team. This is the year of still here for me....I plan on having a multitude of these types of years!

I have many people who love me and take care of me. I am appreciative of them every day!

I hope each of you are aware of the people who love you! I hope you feel that love ever day...

Blessings,
Lolo

Pass It On!

Here is a picture of me, Heather, Terri and Amy. These are the girls I am walking with in the Chicago Three Day Walk for Breast Cancer. Our team name is Pass It On!, which is the same as my foundation. Terri had these t-shirts made up and promoted a Think Pink Day in our hometown of Excelsior Springs. At a soccer game, both the Excelsior team and the Kearney team wore the shirts along with many other people. Terri raised a lot of money for our team. But, don't worry if you want a shirt! My big sis(Heather) and I are looking into getting shirts made for people who donate to our team in the future. I am hoping to have both pink shirts and black..and kid's shirts also. The logo on the front of these shirts was designed by ME!

I will keep you all posted when we finalize our donation letters and when the t-shirts are available to order.

Blessings,
Lolo

How blessed am I?

So, the weather here in Overland Park has been amazing the past couple of days. We went to the park Sunday and Jack spent the majority of today in the park with either my mom and dad or me! Morgan got to go to soccer practice with Michael! It was very sweet. I can not explain how fortunate we are...we don't take any moment for granted. We have been through so much with our experience with cancer, however, we have learned to appreciate the every day...the NOW! I hope that all of you are able to do the same!

Blessings,
Lolo

Went to the park yesterday..

It was such a nice day yesterday that Michael and I took Jack and Mo to the park after church. I will down load some pictures of them in their KC Royals outfits. Too cute! I also got a 19 mile bike ride in last night. It was a productive day. I hope all of you were able to get out of your homes and shake the cob webs off...and enjoy the sun! It adds to your health and your happiness.

Blessings,
Lolo

Yoga, anyone?

Hi all,

Sorry I have not written since Sunday. My laptop computer cord is messed up and will not boot up. I am able to use the family computer to write the blog, but that is about all the functionality I have at this point. Michael is going to get me a new cord tonight so all should be back to normal tomorrow.

I am going to write a little about my breast cancer campaign on my next post, but for now, I just wanted to write a brief post about yoga. I went to a yoga class last night with one of my good friends. The class was so amazing. Although I am relatively flexible, I found myself sweating and really concentrating on the poses in order to get everything right. It was so cathartic. I felt so peaceful and happy after the class. It doesn't take much to make me happy...but even so, it was a wonderful experience.

Today is a little different. I am sore and tired, but I am reminded that this is how things are when you start a new health activity. Yoga, like any sport, can be intimidating when you first start it. Certainly since I have had breast reconstruction using my transverse abdominal muscle, I was not sure my abdominal wall could take yoga.

I was wrong. Anyone can do yoga. My instructor yesterday was a breast cancer survivor herself and has had the very same surgery as me. So, I guess my point is if I can take on this task with all my "limitations"...that you can do the very same. Consider adding exercise to your daily routine...even a 20 minute walk will go a long way. Yoga is great because it makes you focus on your breathing, it helps remind me to breathe even though there are many times when I am anxious that my breathe is not rhythmic. It is a natural response of our body to do this. Just think about the last time you got injured, you may not realize it...but the stress probably caused you to stop breathing for a little bit. Even a second or two of that anxious energy is a stressor in our bodies. I am really working on understanding breathing so that I can maximize oxygen at the cellular level.

If you don't alreayd "work out", don't be intimidated by the thought of taking on a new challenge. Consider things that you like to do and that will fit into your lifestyle...such as a brisk walk, walking the dog, riding a bike, walking the kids to a local park instead of driving. If group exercise is a motivator, then take a class...but remember, that everyone was a newbie at one time. Give yourself the freedom to make mistakes, that is the only way you really learn. Stretch your limits....you never know what you can do until you try.

Next up: the power of juicing...and more on my breast cancer campaign (Pass It On!)

Blessings,
Lolo

Live what you like. Like what you do.

So, I have been working on my book.  Though I am going to be published in a short-story anthology this year, I am still working on some proposals for the book.  I mapped out some chapters tonight and it was interesting.  It brought me back to what I like to call, The Year of Chemo.  It was not quite a year, but it was ten months...which is more than most. 

If I had gone with traditional thought, I would have done two months of chemo...lost my hair..and gotten back to normal.  By now, I would be in the fight for my life.  I am thankful that I am not traditional.  I can only attribute this to the grace of God for helping me recognize the signs for when one physician was not right for me.  I realize that all of you may have different spiritual viewpoints and I totally respect them.  FULLY.  So, I always promise  not to preach, yet I feel compelled to mention that faith has played more than one hand in my healing.

My cancer has given me a privileged perspective, as I have mentioned before.  I read Lance Armstrong's book, It's Not About the Bike, early on in my diagnosis.  He talks of hearing about this privileged perspective.  It was hard to hear that in the beginning, yet I knew that that he was right.  Somehow my life, although in principle was good, had somehow gotten off track.  I am not sure how this works.  It is the same way that very successful and "perfect" people can be lonely.  It is just the way life works.

I had it all, yet I was lonely.  I wasn't fulfilled and my health suffered.  I don't blame anyone else for this.  I believe we all are responsible for our own happiness, whether married or single.  I also don't blame me for this disease.  I just know that I am okay and that I am made to be whole.  So what did I do.  I hit rock bottom with cancer and then started to rebuild.  Thankfully, I had a good structure with family and friends.  Though I have had to make some alterations with close friends since then, I understand that all people can not deal with the "center stage" intensity of my disease.  I don't blame them. I don't know that I can on most days, yet I just press forward because that is what life demands of me.  It is the hand that I have been dealt and I must deal with it.:)

I was talking to one of my best friends last week about how life is meant to be purposeful, how it takes guts to put ourselves out there and make good on what we are made for.  The shirt I was wearing was a "Life is Good." shirt.  I love this company!  Morgan carries a Life Is Good backpack to school and I carry one to workouts.  I love the fact that they spread positivity.  If I could spend the rest of my days spreading positivity like this, I would consider myself a lucky person.  Michael bought me this shirt because the front says "I love to ride my bicycle!" as I do.  

But, in a small box on the front of the shirt it says "Live what you like.  Like what you do."  The simplicity of the message is amazing, yet the purity is hard to deny.  I think we all search for this purity. We search for redemption, validation and purpose.  It appears to be our human condition.  What would we be without this challenge.  I think it is our privilege.

Regardless, I posted a couple of pictures of Morgan and me while I was in chemo.  You can view me, as I actually was. No eyebrows.  Hair barely growing in, yet my pure face and blue eyes are still there.  The essence of me was never pulverized by cancer or the chemo.  I believe in the power of the human spirit.  I hope that you can believe in you.  Morgan, of course, is her beautiful self!  She was five then and her daddy had just taken her to a pizza night after preschool.  She was able to get her face painted as a butterfly.  She insisted that she not wash it off...so she could wear it the next day.  A funky kid...so we honored her spirit and let her be a butterfly the next day.

Blessingsl!

Lolo